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Woman Arrested In Mass. For Assault Over A 'MAGA' Hat Now Faces Deportation

A screengrab of video of the alleged incident that ended with Rosiane Santos' arrest (Courtesy of Bryton Turner via Facebook)
A screengrab of video of the alleged incident that ended with Rosiane Santos' arrest (Courtesy of Bryton Turner via Facebook)

A woman who allegedly assaulted a man wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat in a Falmouth restaurant now faces deportation.

Rosiane Santos, 41, of East Falmouth was arrested on the evening of Feb. 15 for disorderly conduct and assault and battery, Falmouth police said in a statement.

Police said they were dispatched to Casa Vallarta, a Mexican restaurant, for a reported disturbance involving an intoxicated female and a male patron. Police said Santos refused to leave and assaulted the man in officers' presence.

"The male was unknown to her but she was enraged that he was wearing a 'MAGA' hat," police said in the statement.

In the original police report of the incident, according to CapeCod.com, Santos said the man "shouldn’t be allowed in a Mexican restaurant with that hat."

John Mohan, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement that Santos — "an unlawfully present citizen of Brazil" — was arrested Tuesday by ICE and then released later the same day.

Mohan said she has been entered into removal proceedings and given "a notice to appear at a future date before an immigration judge."

Reached by Boston.com, Santos' immigration attorney, Katarina Kozakova, said Santos has a pending green card application and is married to a U.S. citizen.

Police did not identify the man, but the alleged victim, Bryton Turner, uploaded video of at least part of the encounter to Facebook.

Of the hat, made famous by President Trump, Turner told WBZ-TV: "It's just a hat at the end of the day."

This article was originally published on February 26, 2019.

Headshot of Benjamin Swasey

Benjamin Swasey Digital Manager
Ben is WBUR's digital news manager.

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